India to achieve 20 pc ethanol blending target in 2 months: Gadkari
New Delhi, Jan 15: India will achieve its target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in the next two months, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.
The practice of blending ethanol with petrol began in 2001 as a pilot project.
"We will achieve this target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in the next two months. Use of E20 (petrol with 20 per cent ethanol) will help in reducing pollution," Gadkari said while speaking at an event.
The road transport and highways minister said Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, and Hyundai Motors have started manufacturing vehicles that run on 100 per cent bio-ethanol.
Gadkari said pollution is a serious problem in the country as 42 Indian cities are among 50 most-polluted cities in the world.
"We import fossil fuels worth Rs 22 lakh crore, which is also causing pollution," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the higher 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol in 2023.
In the first phase, 15 cities was covered.
Use of ethanol, extracted from sugarcane as well as broken rice and other agri produce, will help India -- the world's third largest oil consumer -- bring down its reliance on overseas shipments.
India is 85 per cent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs.
Use of E20 leads to an estimated reduction of carbon monoxide emissions by about 50 per cent in two-wheelers and about 30 per cent in four-wheelers compared to E0 (neat petrol).
The target of achieving average 10 per cent blending was achieved in June 2022, much ahead of the target date of November 2022.
Automobile engines can run on E20 with minor modifications in engine for corrosion, etc.
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Rahul Gandhi joins Haryana Congress leader's 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram
Gurugram (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined the 'Sadbhav Yatra' of Haryana Congress leader Brijendra Singh here.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, reached Gurugram in the evening and joined the yatra. He also walked some distance with Brijendra, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh and other leaders.
Huge crowds had turned up for the occasion.
Later, Gandhi proceeded to the venue where he addressed a public gathering.
Leader of Opposition in Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress leaders, including Randeep Singh Surjewala, B K Hariprasad, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, were also present.
Brijendra Singh had on Thursday said it is a matter of joy for them that Gandhi was joining the 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram-Badshahpur, "thereby strengthening the Indian National Congress' campaign for brotherhood and harmony".
The 'Sadbhav Yatra' began from Danoda village at Narwana in Jind on October 5, 2025, and has covered 85 of the 90 assembly segments in the state.
The foot march was started by Brijendra Singh, son of Congress veteran Birender Singh, to highlight several national and regional issues.
State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh had asked all party leaders to take part in Friday's event.
Days before his yatra began in October, Brijendra Singh, who narrowly lost the 2024 assembly polls from Jind's Uchana Kalan, accused the ruling BJP of playing "divisive politics" and said that "sadbhav" (harmony) has come under stress in the last decade.
Brijendra Singh was a sitting MP from Hisar for the BJP when he resigned ahead of the 2024 general election and switched over to the Congress. He also alleged that the saffron party creates a wedge in society to achieve its political purpose.
The 'padyatra' has so far covered 85 assembly constituencies in Haryana, traversing more than 2,700 kilometres.
Addressing the public gathering, Brijendra Singh said the yatra is inspired by Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he took the party's vision and values directly to the people of the country.
Singh said the yatra has highlighted issues like "Vote Chori" (vote theft), unemployment, poor law and order situation, agrarian distress, and issues related to government employees, labourers and traders.
"Sadbhav (harmony) and bhaichara (brotherhood), which the BJP is attempting to weaken, are the messages of this yatra," he said, adding that its slogan is "Congress ka haath bhaichara ka saath".
"This yatra is a natural extension of the Bharat Jodo Yatra," Brijendra Singh said.
